Budget and Finances
The budget sets goals and guides decision on what to purchase, build, and repair.
Budget 2025 |
We invite residents to fill out a survey to help shape the Township of Russell in 2025 and beyond. Send your suggestions to the Clerk’s Office at clerk.greffe@russell.ca by September 30, 2024.
Key Dates:
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Budget 2024 |
Key Dates:
View the Approved 2024 Budget Draft If you wish to receive a copy of the full budget binder, send us a request by email. |
Budget 2023 |
Key Dates:
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Budget 2022 |
Council adopted the 2022 Budget on Monday, November 1, 2021. The budget includes a tax increase of 2.5%. The Township’s average household assessment value of $346,000 will see a $44.53 tax increase in 2022. A total of $356,997 will be generated from the taxation increase. Due to the complexity of tables in the budget document, please contact the Accessibility Coordinator if you need accessibility support. View the: |
Budget 2021 |
Council adopted the 2021 Budget on Monday, November 2, 2020. The budget includes a tax increase of 2.5% and a reduction in flat fee water and sewer rates. See our Paving and Capital Projects page for more information on upcoming construction. Due to the complexity of tables in this document, it may not be compatible with all assistive technologies. If you require this document in an accessible format, please contact us and we will make every effort to accommodate your needs. |
Capital and operational expenses
The annual budget decides how much money goes towards the priorities listed in our Strategic Plan, Business Plan, and requests from the community throughout the year.
Like your own personal budget, our budget is divided into two sections – operating and capital.
The operating budget covers day-to-day spending. In your home, these would be things like gas or groceries. For the Township, it includes:
- Garbage
- Clean Water
- Maintenance of our Public Pool, Arenas, and Other Facilities.
The capital budget pays for new projects or upgrades. These are things like renovations or new appliances for your home. For the Township, capital expenses include:
- Road Improvements
- Park Upgrades
- Equipment to Maintain Infrastructure
See our Paving and Capital Projects page for more information on this year's expected projects.
Who decides what's included in the budget?
We consider many things when making each year's budget, including:
- Goals in our guiding Reports and Plans;
- Age and condition of current Township assets (roads, facilities, programs), and how they have been maintained over the years;
- Risks if the service, program, or asset we have were to fail;
- Coordination with other capital projects (for example, a culvert replacement might trigger the need for updated curbs and sidewalks, so that the road is only dug up once);
- Annual costs of running and maintaining a new potential service, program, or asset.
Council gives the administration directives on what is in the final budget.
Budget process and approval
- Staff create a Draft Budget based on our Strategic Plan, Business Plan, and community requests;
- Council discusses the Draft Budget during the budget working sessions;
- Staff make changes to the Draft Budget based on Council's requests during the working sessions and public feedback;
- Staff present the Final Budget;
- Council reviews and approves the Final Budget;
Financial reports and statements
The following public documents are available by request to our Finance Department:
- Financial Statements
- Financial Information Returns (FIR)
- Statements on Renumeration and Expenses of Members of Council